Under the FAME-II programme, more than 3,000 additional electric buses will travel around the nation’s cities over the course of the following two years, according to Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey.
3.049 e-buses are already in use in the nation, he continued.
On Friday here, the minister signalled the departure of 175 e-buses for Gujarat (75) and Karnataka (100) as part of the programme. He was in town to take part in an Industry 4.0 conference.
In two years, Pandey predicted that there will be over 3,000 additional buses, speaking outside the conference.
In order to promote electric mobility in the nation, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) initiative was approved in 2019. It is intended to support 10 lakh electric two-wheelers, 5 lakh electric three-wheelers, 55,000 electric four-wheelers, and 7,000 electric buses under the programme.
He added that two businesses received notifications from the ministry requesting information about the parts used in their electric vehicles and whether they were manufactured locally or not because the businesses had submitted claims for subsidies under the Rs 10,000 crore FAME-II initiative.
In the event that it is discovered that the two electric car manufacturers did not adhere to the scheme’s demand for localization, the government will take appropriate action, the minister added.
But he kept the identities of the corporations a secret.
An official from the ministry claimed that Hero Electric and Okinawa have both received notices.
“We asked for their response to the notices. We have requested more information,” Pandey added, noting that one of the requirements for receiving government subsidies for EV companies under the programme is local component production.
“We shall take action in accordance with that policy (scheme) if they are proven to be in violation of those requirements.” We will take action against anyone who refuses to adhere to government regulations, the official added.
